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Islamization of Knowledge: A Comparative Analysis of The Concept of Al
Faruqi and Al Attas
By: Mohd Murat Md Aris∗
Introduction
Since the last decade, several attempts have been made in the cause of translating the
concept of Islamization of Knowledge into concrete forms of activities such as the
publication of monographs and textbooks, and in the establishment of institutions that
offer related academic programmes to further the cause. Among those who were in
the forefront in the effort are two major scholars, namely Syed Muhammad Naquib alAttas and the late Isma‘il Raji al-Faruqi. Both of them have attempted to define the
problem and the concept and translate it through their works. Al-Faruqi established
The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in Virginia in 1981, while alAttas established The International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization
(ISTAC) in Kuala Lumpur in 1987. Both of them have a significant number of
followers who have further expanded their effort.
This article would try to examine, compare and analyse their conception of
Islamization of Knowledge to look for some similarities and differences between
them with the hope to better understand and exploring possible reconciliation those
differences.
Philosophy of Knowledge According To Al-Faruqi and Al-Attas
According to Al-Faruqi tawhid is the basic and unifying principle of Islam. Upon this
principle al-Faruqi elaborates and develops his conception and methodology of
Islamization of knowledge. He believes tawhid as the core of the Islamic worldview.
He points out that al-Tawhid is a view of reality, of truth, of the world, of space and
time, of human histor and destiny.1 The object of knowledge, he stated, is the pattern
of nature, which is the work of God. Certainly God knows them since He is their
Author; and the source of revelation. He gives man of His knowledge which is
absolute and universal. Al-Faruqi further elaborates that al-tawhid is the recognition
that the truth is indeed knowable, that man is capable of reaching it. Skepticism,
which denies this truth, is the opposite of al-tawhid.2
God is the ultimate Cause of every event, and the final End of all that is; that He is the
First and the Last.3 The Unity of God means that He is the First Cause of everything.4
Like the mutakallimun in the past, al-Faruqi repudiated the philosophers who upon the
influence of the Aritotelian god believed that after creation God left the cosmos to
operate on its own, like a mechanical clock which does not need the clock maker to
operate. He strongly argues that God is alive, active and continously creating and
destroying.5
Al-Faruqi also affirms that in Islam, nature is neither bad nor evil, rather it is viewed
as a creation and a gift. As God’s creation it is purposive, perfect and orderly; and as a
gift it is created for the benefit of man. The main purpose of creation is to facilitate
∗
This article originally was a course assigment submitted by the writer to the Faculty of Usul al-Din
during his stint in IIUM pursuing his Masters in IRK (Comparative Religion) in 2001.
1
Isma‘il Raji al-Faruqi, Al Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life (Kuala Lumpur: International
Islamic Federation of Students Organization, 1983), 45.
2
Ibid, 45
3
Ibid, 50
4
Ibid, 51-52
5
Ibid, 52
and assist man to act in good deeds and attain happiness. The orderliness,
purposiveness and goodness of nature are distintive features of the Islamic view of
nature.6 Although nature has been created for human beings, it should not be abused
or exploited and must be used in line with divine purpose. Therefore , nature as a
divine manor, has the following ethical principle:
i. nature is not man’s property but God’s;
ii. the order of nature is subject to man, who can bring to it such changes as he
wills;
iii. in his use and enjoyment of nature, man is enjoined to act morally, for theft
and cheating, coercian and monopoly, hoarding and exploitaiton, egotism and
insensitivity to the needs of others, are unworthy of him as God’s vicegerent
and are therefore strictly forbidden; and
iv.
Islam demands of man to search for and understand the pattern of God in
nature, not merely those which constitute the natural sciences, but equally
those which constitute nature’s general order and beauty.7
He said that although in the West natural science could only flourish and proper after
the process of secularization, this was not the case in Islam. To develop the sciences,
Muslim scientist do not need to remove God from nature. Instead of being its enemy,
God is the necessary condition of natural science; The Muslim is convinced beyond
doubt that Allah (swt) is the ultimate cause, the only Agent, by whose benovelent
action all that is, and all that happens, happens.8
He further emphasizes that the gist of tawhid is central and comprises of five
principles. First, duality that is, the notion that reality is of two generic kinds,God and
non-god; Cretor and nature. Second is ideationality, that is, the relation between two
orders of reality is ideational in nature. Third is teleology, that is, the cosmos is
created for a pupose that is, serving the purpose of its Creator, and doing so out of
design. Fourth, the capacity of man and malleability of nature. This is consistent with
the idea that since everything is created for a purpose must be possible in space and
time. Fifth and finally, responsibility and judgement, that is, man is responsible for his
action. Moral obligation is impossible without responsibility or reckoning. Judgement
or the consumption of responsibility, is the necessary condition of moral obligation, or
moral imperativeness.9
Al-Faruqi states the necessity of remoulding every discipline so as to incorporate the
relevance of Islam, along a triple axis which constitutes tawhid..These three axes for
Islamization of modern disciplines are: The unity of knowledge, which will abolish
the dichotomy between aqli (acquired) and naqli (revealed) sciences; the unity of life,
which will eradicate the distinction that some sciencess are value-involved and some
are value-free, thus making all the sciences as value loaded; and the unity of history,
which will remove the separation of knowledge into individual and social sciences,
forming all disciplines that are at the same humanistic and Ummatic..10
As for al-Attas his concept is based on his adoption of an Islamic metaphysics that is a
synthesis of ideas traditionally upheld by Muslim theologians (mutakallimun),
philosophers (hukama’) and sufis (sufiyyah or ahl al-tasawwuf). In his “The
Educational Philosophy and Practices of Al-Attas”, Wan Mohd Nor elaborates that
6
Ibid, 50
Ibid, 57-59
8
Ibid
9
Ibid, 10-14
10
Al-Faruqi, Islamization of Knowledge, introduction.
7
2
“the metaphysics of al-Attas, in fact all his articulations on Islam, are based on his
interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), and the teaching of
what Iqbal calls the “more genuine schools of Sufism.”11 In al-Attas metaphysics, the
reality and concept of God forms the major thrust of the Islamic world view and this
has deep implications for the concept of knowledge and the concept, contents and
methods of Islamic education. He asserts that the knowledge about God is not merely
propositional or cognitive but also more importantly experiential, based on one’s
intuitive experience and awareness of one’s self and of the external world of creation.
He enunciates that all knowledge of reality and of truth, and the projection of a true
vision of the ultimate nature of things is originally derived through the medium of
intuition.12 He affirms that “each metaphysical system, and thus also the worldview it
projects, is not the same for every other civilization; it differs from one another in
accordance with differences in the interpretation of what is taken to be ultimately true
and real.”13 Since the metaphysics of Islam and the worldview it projects differs from
any other metaphysics, naturally the concept of knowledge, methodology and other
affiliated matters derived from it will be fundamentally different. The idea of
Islamization of modern knowledge within a certain metaphysical context can be
meaningful due to this basic theoretical difference in metaphysics and the concept of
knowledge. He affirms that the Western vision of reality and truth is not founded on
revealed Truth but is established upon philosophical speculations which are
characterized by uncertainly and relativity. Consequently, knowledge and sciences
that emerge from it are also relative, uncertain, always subject to change and entail
alterations in the worldview and the metaphysical system that project it.14
According to al-Attas, Islam derives its sources from revelations, confirmed by
religion and affirmed by intellectual and intuitive principles.15 The Islamic worldview
is not to be understood as a dualism, for Islam affirms only One Reality and truth, and
all Islamic values pertain ultimately to It alone, so that to the Muslim, individually
and collectively, all endeavor towards change and development and progress and
perfection is invariably determined by the world view that projects the vision of the
One Reality and confirms the affirmation of the same Truth.16 Al-Attas supports his
contention by mentioning some of the fundamental elements of Islam like the nature
of God, of Revelation (i.e. the Qur’an), His creation, man and the psychology of the
human soul, knowledge, religion, freedom, values and virtues, of happiness that
remain original and unchanged. All of these elements along with the key terms and
concepts have never changed because it was already perfected and “matured” since
the beginning, it does not required any more progress or development.17
Al-Attas maintains that knowledge is not totally and purely the product of the human
mind and experience but is also based on revealed truth. Knowledge continously
requires direction, supervision and confirmation from the revealed truth. This is so
because the metaphysics of Islam is not only based upon reason and experience but
11
Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practices of Syed Muhammad Naquid
Al-Attas (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1998), 35-36.
12
S.m.N. Al-Attas, Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995), 177
13
14
15
16
17
Ibid.,ix.
Al-Attas, Prolegomena, ix.
Ibid., 4.
Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 84.
Ibid., 5.
3
also firmly grounded upon Revelation.18 Thus, Islamization of contemporary
knowledge; that knowledge of the realities of things and their ultimate nature can be
established with certainty by means of our external and internal senses and faculties,
reason and intuition, and true reports of scientific or religious nature, transmitted by
their authentic authorities.19
He asserts that Islam has never accepted, nor has ever been affected by ethical and
epistemological relativism that made man the measure of all things, nor has it ever
created the situations for the rise of skepticism, agnosticism, and subjectivism all of
which in one way or another describe aspects of the secularizing process which have
contributed to the birth of modernism and post-modernism.20
For him the most appropriate epistemological definition of knowledge, with reference
to God as being its origin, is the arrival in the soul of the meaning of a thing or an
object of knowledge; and with reference to the soul as being its interpreter, knowledge
is the arrival of the soul at the meaning of thing or an object of knowledge.21
Definition of Islamization of Knowledge
According to al-Faruqi, Islamization of modern knowledge is recasting knowledge as
Islam relates to it. He believes that to Islamize knowledge is to redefine, and reorder
the data, to rethink the reasoning and relating of the data, to reevaluate the
conclusions, to re-project the goals and to do so in such a way as to make the
disciplines enrich the vision and served the cause of Islam.22 Al-Faruqi asserts that the
task of Islamizing knowledge which in concrete term means to Islamize disciplines or,
better, to produce university-level textbooks, is among the most difficult to realize
because it involves recasting some twenty disciplines in accordance with Islamic
vision.23
According to al-Faruqi, as disciplines, the humanities, the social science and natural
sciences must be reconceived and rebuilt, given a new Islamic base and assigned new
purpose consistent with Islam. Every discipline must be recast so as to embody the
principles of Islam in its methodology, in its strategy, in what it regards as its data, its
problems, its objectives, (and) its aspirations. 24
Al-Faruqi defines Islamization of modern knowledge as integrating “the new
knowledge into the corpus of the Islamic legacy by eliminating, amending, reinterpreting and adapting its component as the world view of Islam and its values
dictate.”25
In contrast to al-Faruqi, al-Attas definition of Islamization of contemporary
knowledge is the logical consequence and extension of his more general idea on
Islamization, which seems to be a response to secularization or Westernization.
18
Wan Muhammad Nor Wan Daud, “An Outline of the Educational Philosophy and Methodology of
Al-Attas”, Islam Arastimalar Cilt: 7, Sayi: 1 Kis Donemi (1993-94), 41.
19
Ibid., 14; 217.
20
21
Ibid., 14.
Ibid., 17. Italics mine.
22
Ismail R. al-Faruqi, “Islamization of Knowledge: Problems, Principles and Prospective,” in Islam:
Source and Purpose of Knowledge (Herndon: IIIT and Jeddah: King Abdul Aziz University, 1988), 32
23
Ibid, 32
24
25
Al-Faruqi, “Introduction”, Islamization of Knowledge.
Al-Faruqi, “Islamization of Knowledge,” 30.
4
Islamization is defined by al-Attas as “the liberation of man first from magical,
mythological, animistic, national-cultural tradition, and then from secular control over
his reason and his language”26 The liberation of his spirit or soul bears direct
influence upon man’s physical being. It brings about peace and harmony within
himself, and also between him and other men and nature. In this sense, man has set
his course towards the attainment of his original state, which is in harmony with the
state of all being and existence (i.e., fitrah) . It is also liberation from subservience to
his physical demands which are inclined toward the secular and prone to injustice to
his true self or soul, since man has a tendency towards forgetfulness of his true nature,
becoming ignorant of his true purpose and unjust to it.27
Al-Attas further explains that Islamization involves firstly the Islamization of
language since “language, thought and reason are closely interconnected and are
indeed interdependent in projecting to man his world view or vision of reality. Thus
the Islamization of language brings about the Islamization of thought and reason
…”28 This fact is demonstrated by the Holy Quran itself when it was first revealed
among the Arabs.29 He argues that the concept of Islamization `in general will
naturally lead to the Islamization of contemporary knowledge. This is so because
thought, reason and language shape the form and kind of knowledge to be generated.
Al-Attas explains the Islamization of contemporary knowledge as ‘the deliverance of
knowledge from its interpretations based on secular ideology; and from meanings and
expressions of the secular.” 30 More specifically, he defines the Islamization of
present-day knowledge as that, “…after the isolation process referred to, the
knowledge free of the (western) elements and key concepts isolated are then infused
with the Islamic elements and keys concepts which, in view of their fundamental
nature as defining the fitrah, in fact imbue the knowledge with the quality of its
natural function and purpose and thus makes it true knowledge. 31
Al-Attas also identifies and explains the foreign elements and key concepts that
should be removed from the body of contemporary Western, secular knowledge. They
are: The concept of dualism which encompasses their vision of reality and truth; their
dualism of mind and body; their separation of intellectus and ratio, and their stress
upon the validity of ratio; their methodological cleavage pertaining to rationalism and
empiricism; their doctrine of humanism; the secular ideology; and their concept of
tragedy-mainly in literature.32
Methodological Framework
Al-Faruqi’s methodology of Islamization of modern knowledge too has been
developed and elaborated on the basis of tawhid. For the sake of Islamizing modern
knowledge al-Faruqi has laid down fundamental principles of the Islamic worldview
that serve as the framework of Islamic thought, methodology and way of life.33 Al26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
S.M.N. Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1993), 41, 174.
Ibid, 42.
Ibid., 42-43.
Ibid,42
Ibid., 43.
Ibid., 156.
Ibid., 45.
Al-Faruqi, Islamization of Knowledge, 33
5
Faruqi clearly stated the five elements that form the “First Principles of the Islamic
Methodology.” They are: the Unity of Allah; the Unity of Creation; the Unity of Truth
and the Unity of Knowledge; the Unity of Life; and the Unity of Humanity.34 AlFaruqi reasons that the Islamic traditional methodology is inadequate to Islamize
modern knowledge due to the following shortcomings. First, it confined and restricted
the meaning of important terms such as fiqh, faqih, ijtihad and mujtahid. For example,
the term fiqh and its derivatives are confined only to the ‘ulum al-shari‘ah rather than
knowledge of Islam as a whole as originality used by the Qur‘an. Second, the
traditional method separates wahy (revelation) and ‘aql (reason). Third, it separates
thought and action. Finally, the traditional method creates cultural and religious
dualism, that is the bifurcation of the method into two paths, secular and religious.
This dichotomy occurred particularly in the period of decay - because of the
estrangement between thought and action - the split into two: the way of the world
and the way of the God or virtue.35 These shortcomings could have been avoided if
the First Principles mentioned above were adhered to.
To concretize his ideas, al-Faruqi sets up a workplan for the Islamization of modern
knowledge that consists of five objectives, as follows:
1. To master the modern disciplines;
2. To master the Islamic legacy;
3. To establish the specific relevance of Islam to each area of modern
knowledge;
4. To seek ways for creative synthesis between the legacy and modern
knowledge;
5. To launch Islamic thought on the trajectory which leads it to fulfillment of the
divine pattern of Allah.36
In order to achieve the objectives of the workplan and the aims of Islamization of
modern knowledge, al-Faruqi further outlines twelve steps through which one must go
through.37 They are:
1. Mastery of the modern disciplines;
2. Discipline survey;
3. Mastery of the Islamic legacy: Anthology;
4. Mastery of the Islamic legacy: The analysis;
5. Establishment of the specific relevance of Islam to the disciplines;
6. Critical assessment of the modern discipline: The state-of-the art;
7. Critical assessment of the Islamic legacy: The state-of-the art;
8. Survey of the Ummah’s major problems;
9. Survey of the problems of humankind;
10. Creative analyses and syntheses;
11. Recasting the disciplines under the framework of Islam: The university
textbook;
12. Dissemination of Islamized knowledge.38
34
35
36
Ibid, 22-23
Ibid, 32-38
Ibid, 28
37
Ismail Raji al-Faruqi asserts that “to realize these objectives, a number of steps must be taken. Their
logical order defines the order of priority belonging to each step.” See, “Islamization of Knowledge”,
54
38
Ibid, 39-46
6
The first two steps are to ensure Muslims’ understanding and mastery of the
disciplines as they have developed in the West. The next two steps are to ensure that
modern Muslim scholars who are not too familiar with the Islamic legacy due to
problem of access, will be provided an opportunity to access it from anthologies
prepared by traditionally trained Muslim scholars who have access to it. The analysis
of Islamic legacy is to better understand the Islamic vision with to the historical
background, problems and issues involved. These first four steps should inform the
scholars of the contributions of the Islamic legacy and its relevance to the areas
studied by the disciplines and their general goals. The sixth step is the major step in
the Islamization process where consistency with the First Principles and the five-fold
unity are checked before the creative synthesis is reached in step ten.
Like al-Faruqi, al-Attas also upholds the tawhidic method in which there is unity of
all the empirical and rational, the deductive and the inductive methods.39 He assures
that Muslim scholars in the past had utilized several methods in their research. AlAttas also considers tafsir and ta’wil as valid methods of approach to knowledge and
scientific methodology respecting our study and interpretation of the world of nature
and its significance in our conception of knowledge and education.40 According to alAttas knowledge includes faith and belief (iman)41 and knowledge should be followed
by action (‘amal) for there is no useful knowledge without action, and there is no
worthwhile action without knowledge.42 Thus, the ultimate aim of pursuing
knowledge in Islam is to be a good man and not a good citizen of a secular state.43
According to him, the process of Islamization of contemporary knowledge consists of
two major steps. First, isolation of Western elements and key concepts from existing
body of knowledge and secondly, the infusion of Islamic elements and key concepts
into it.44 He reiterates that knowledge must be imbued with Islamic elements and key
concepts after the foreign elements and key concepts have been isolated from its
every branch. The infiltration of four elements and key concepts namely secularism,
dualism, humanism, and tragedy mostly occurred in the branch of knowledge referred
to especially the human sciences. However, as al-Attas observes these alien concepts
also penetrate into the natural, physical and applied sciences that are specifically
concerned with the interpretation of facts and information of theories. Therefore he
suggests that a similar process of separation of the foreign elements and key concepts
should be undertaken because interpretations of facts and formulations of theory are
in the domain of the human sciences.45
Al-Attas explicitly indicates the components of the Islamic elements and key concepts
that should be infused to the existing body of knowledge after the isolation of the
Western elements and key concepts. The consist of the nature of man (insane), of
religion (din), of knowledge (‘ilm and ma‘rifah), of wisdom (hikmah), of justice
(‘adl), of right action (‘amal-adab)46 and the concept of university (kulliyyahjami‘ah).47 All of these ingredients should be linked to the concept of tawhid,
shari‘ah, sirah, Sunnah and tarikh. They should also be referred to knowledge of
religious sciences (‘ulum al-shari‘ah) that should encompass positive elements of
39
Al-Attas, Prolegomena, 3
S. M. N. Al-Attas, The Concept of Education in Islam (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1991), 18-19.
41
Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 141.
42
Ibid, 140.
43
Ibid, 141.
44
Al-Attas, The Concept of Education in Islam, 43.
45
Al-Attas, Islam and Secularism, 43.
46
Ibid, 156.
47
Ibid, 153
40
7
tasawwuf, Islamic philosophy, cosmological doctrines, knowledge of Islamic ethics
(akhlaq) and adab. In addition to that they should be supplemented with knowledge of
the Arabic language and of the Islamic world-view in general.48
Al-Attas cautions that Islamization of contemporary knowledge cannot be carried out
simply by grafting or transplanting secular knowledge into Islamic sciences and
principles. Such method will only yield perpetual conflicting results and meaningless
efforts because the essence of foreign elements or diseases remains in the body of
knowledge that makes it impossible to recast it in the crucible of Islam. Furthermore
transplanting between two distinct and contradictory elements and key concepts will
produce neither secular knowledge nor Islamic one.49
Analysis of Their Conception
In analysing al-Faruqi and al-Attas’ philosophy of knowledge, we found that both of
them share the same assumptions about knoledge. They believe that knowledged is
not value-free, and in fact, it is value-loaded and it is attainable. Their conception of
knowledge are founded on Islamic metaphysical, ontological, epistemological and
axiological principles, which have the concept of tawhid as their pivot. They both
share that God is the origin of all knowledge and that knowledge is the basis of faith
and good deeds. They also agree the root of the Ummah’s problem lies in the
educational system, besides the problem of modern knowledge. To solve the problem
is to Islamize existing modern knowledge, by performing a surgery on it to eliminate
the bad elements and impurities from it and by amending, reinterpreting or adapting it
to be in accordance with the dictate of the Islamic worldview or values.
However, inspite of their similarities, there are a few noticeable differences between
them. Although their definition of Islamization of Knowledge bear some resemblance
with one another, there is still a slight differences. It seems that the driving force in alFaruqi’s Islamization of knowledge seems to be the malaise of the Ummah, the
dualistic educational systems and the failure of the traditional Islamic methodology to
confront the modern reality. While al-Attas definition attempts to capture the essence
of Islamization of individual personality as prior to Islamization of knowledge as a
response to secularization.
Another difference between them is that al-Faruqi believes that the process of
Islamization of knowledge should also include knowledge inherited from the Islamic
legacy, while al-Attas confines the concept of Islamization to only contemporary or
modern knowledge.
The biggest differnce between them is in their methodology for the process of
Islamization of contemporary knowledge. For al-Attas, the process consist of two
steps as constituted in his definition, namely the process of verification and the
process of infusion. He does not outline the specific procedures for it. Al-Faruqi on
the other hand, develops a methodology of Islamization of modern knowledge based
on the First Principle, which involves twelve steps. Al-Faruqi method involves a
creative synthesis and the integration of the Western and Islamic concepts of
knowledge that is expected to bring Islamic knowledge to the secular and modern
knowledge to the Islamic system.
Al-Faruqi reveals the shortcoming of both the traditional and modern method and
synthesizes the posirtive aspect of both in order to produce Islamized knowledge. AlAttas would not agree with that.. For him, the problem only lies in the Western
48
49
Ibid, 156-157.
Ibid, 56
8
modern secular knowledge. Such knowledge is actually need to be Islamize, but not
Islamic traditional knowledge because it does not suffer from secularization an has
been Islamized.
Another noticeable difference between them lies on the significance of tasawwuf
(sufism) in formulating basic concepts in all branches of knowledge. Al-Attas
considers tasawwuf not only significant but necessary for formulation of the theory of
knowledge and education. While al-Faruqi, like other salafi, was very careful on the
issue. He considered the salafiyyah movements as more successful than most current
efforts because salafiyyah assaulted tasawwuf, but failed because salafiyyah were not
really well prepared to encounter the outside world.50
Reconcilation
In reconciling both differences, we may say that apart from their minor differences,
their concepts and definitions of Islamization of contemporary knowledge bear very
close resemblance. The only major fundamental differences between them lies in the
process and methodology of Islamization of knowledge itself. Methodological
differences is minor compared to differences in philosophical framework that form
the basis of their paradigm. Therefore we can be optimistic on the possibility of
reeconcilation and cooperation, assuming that the followers of both scholars are able
to reach out to each other in honest, intellectual discourse.
50
Al-Faruqi, Al-Tawhid, viii
9